Netherlands records first assisted suicide of child under 12 

A child younger than 12 has died by assisted suicide in the Netherlands for the first time since the country expanded its euthanasia rules.

Dutch Health Minister Sophie Hermans recently informed Parliament of the case. Officials did not release the child’s age, sex or medical condition.

The Netherlands changed its policy in 2024 to allow doctors to end the lives of terminally ill children ages 1 through 11 in some cases. Before then, the country already permitted euthanasia for adults, older children and some newborn infants.

Dutch officials said the child had a terminal illness. The government says doctors may end a child’s life when the child has “unbearable suffering with no prospect of improvement.”

A review committee examined the case and interviewed the doctor involved. Dutch prosecutors will now decide whether the doctor followed the law.

Pro-life critics said the review cannot help the child now.

“If the Public Prosecution Service finds concerns with the death, it won’t matter because the child is already dead,” Alex Schadenberg of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition wrote for LifeNews.

Schadenberg also said he is “concerned about the further spread of this scourge to other countries including Canada.”

The comment reflects concerns many pro-life advocates have raised for years. They argue that once governments allow doctors to intentionally end human life in limited situations, lawmakers often expand those policies over time.

The Lion has reported on similar concerns in Canada. Lawmakers legalized assisted suicide there in 2016 and later expanded eligibility beyond people whose deaths were reasonably foreseeable. By 2024, it had become one of the nation’s leading causes of death, behind conditions such as cancer, heart disease and accidents. Canada currently plans to allow assisted suicide for mental illness in 2027 unless lawmakers change the law.

The Lion reported this week that a Canadian parliamentary committee recommended keeping the country’s current ban on assisted suicide for people whose only medical condition is mental illness. The Lion also recently reported on a physically healthy Canadian actress who asked a court to let her receive assisted suicide because of mental illness.

Assisted suicide remains a major issue in the United States as well. Thirteen states and Washington, D.C., allow the practice, while pro-life groups, disability-rights advocates and some medical professionals continue to oppose legalization bills in other states.

Supporters of assisted suicide argue that patients facing severe suffering should have the option to end their lives. Opponents argue that governments should improve care for vulnerable people rather than help end their lives.